On a cold and rainy
afternoon at Emory G. Bauer Field, Milwaukee spoiled Valparaiso’s Senior Day
with a doubleheader sweep of the Crusaders, winning both games by the same 7-3
scores.

“I’m disappointed
with the way the day went,” head coach Tracy
Woodson said. “We were excited to
play to start off with, but just didn’t stay into the games mentally throughout.”

Milwaukee struck
first in the opener. Tell Taylor singled
with one out in the first inning and moved to second on a ground out. With two outs, Paul Hoencke delivered a
run-scoring single.

The Crusaders
bounced back in the bottom of the first.
Kyle Gaedele (Arlington
Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows H.S.) walked and Steven Scoby (Delton, Mich./Delton Kellogg H.S.) followed with a
single. After a wild pitch moved both
runners up 90 feet, Chris Manning (Lake
Forest, Calif./El Toro H.S.) plated Gaedele with a RBI ground out. With two outs, Robbie Robinson (Brea, Calif./Olinda H.S.) put Valpo on top with a single
up the middle.

The Panthers took
the lead for good in the third, scoring four times, taking advantage of a
Crusader error. A bases loaded ground
out back to the mound tied the game at two and Ryan Solberg put the visitors on
top with a single. Cole Kraft increased
the lead to 5-2 with a two-run hit to right.

Valpo got one run
back in the fourth, as Andrew Bain
(Indianapolis, Ind./Park Tudor H.S.) reached on a two out error. After a hit by Gaedele, Scoby delivered a
run-scoring single.

Jonathan Capasso
homered for Milwaukee to lead off the fifth and Kraft delivered another RBI hit
later in the inning, another unearned run surrendered by the Crusaders.

Chad Pierce went all
seven innings for the complete game victory (6-3) for the Panthers. He allowed nine hits and the three runs, only
two of which were earned. He walked two
and struck out four. Jon Gulbransen (Appleton, Wis./Fox
Valley Lutheran H.S.) suffered the loss (5-7) for the Crusaders, working six
innings. He allowed seven runs, three of
which were earned, and 14 hits, while walking two and striking out five.

Scoby and Robinson
each had two hits for the Crusaders while Kraft went 3-for-5 to pace the
Panther offense.

“We weren’t able to
overcome our mistakes,” Woodson added. “We
made too many of them, and need to find a way to bounce back from them.”

In the night cap the
Crusaders struck first as the rain started to fall in the bottom of the third
inning. Michael Morman (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic H.S.) led off with a
single and moved to second on Bain’s sacrifice bunt. Gaedele lined a double into left, scoring
Morman with the game’s first run. Scoby
followed with a run-scoring single and Valpo had a 2-0 lead.

Prior to the start
of the fourth inning, the rain became too heavy and play was halted for 55 minutes. Milwaukee cut Valpo’s lead in half following
the resumption of play on a two-out single by Jonathan Capasso.

The Crusaders
extended the lead to 3-1 in the sixth as Corey
Thibault (Tustin, Calif./Foothill H.S.) scored on a passed ball.

Milwaukee took the
lead in the seventh. Two singles and a
hit batsman loaded the bases before Pierce scored on a wild pitch. A ground out tied the game before a two-out
error put the Panthers on top. The
guests added three more runs in the eighth on a squeeze bunt and a two-run home
run by Kraft to close out the scoring.

The rains came down
again in the top of the ninth, and the game was called with the Panthers
batting and one out.

The Crusaders
managed just five hits in the night cap while Capasso went 3-for-4 to lead Milwaukee’s
12-hit attack.

“We need to bounce
back on this final road trip and try to position ourselves for the tournament,”
Woodson concluded.

Valparaiso (21-28,
13-8) will head out on the road for the final five games of the regular season,
beginning on Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader against UIC in Chicago. First pitch is slated for 12:05 p.m. The Crusaders and Panthers will then wrap up
the 2011 regular season next Thursday and Friday with a three-game series in
Milwaukee.